Throughout unit five Finding the Ancient in the Modern in Foundations of the Humanities, I have discovered many fascinating thoughts to reflect on and subjects to observe from the different perspectives. The ideas presented in the study materials are still relevant nowadays and connected to the personal way of thinking along with the cultural phenomena. This paper reflects on unit five and observes the most memorable parts of the learning materials that have been studied.
Through all the topics, the most crucial idea that resonated with me was “The Death of the Author” by Roland Barthes. Before reading the essays, the answer to the question of who is the author of one or another piece of work was evident. While reading a book or listening to music, people most of the time look at the book cover or on the name next to the song title and immediately detect the who created it. However, Barth significantly complicated the perception of the authorship, and now it is hard to see this as before. Barthes claimed that when a person is writing a book, they inevitably use the manifestation of the different cultures, beliefs, and views (Luke Perkins 01:10 – 01:30). When the individual finishes the book, they persist they created it, but the truth is that all the concepts that they used while writing the book has been gained from other sources.
While studying the creation of meaning, Barthes’ ideas seem to be one of the most relevant to the unit. Considering the fact that the work has no real author, emerges the need to identify the true meaning and understanding of the work without relying on the author. To that, Barthes responds that the individuals have to look inside themselves and explain the art in the manner of personal values and outlooks (Luke Perkins 02:20 – 02:43). Most of the time evaluating the work, the person never happens to imagine that the concepts used, for example, in the book, were borrowed or, in general, belong to no one.
Barthes’ concept relates only to the books but to the other forms of art as well. Thinking about music, this is probably the best example of the art form where the self-claimed author did not create the original product (Luke Perkins 01:40-02:10). Over the last decade, an electronic genre of music started to gain popularity all over the world, and consequently, it had led to an increased number of musicians in that genre. Most of them might think that they are the original authors of the tracks and music albums that they were realizing, but from Barthes’ perspective, they are entirely wrong. Someone has already made the melodies, the beats, and the sounds that musicians use. What those new creators are doing is combining and matching sounds, sometimes even using someone’s particular track as a base for their own.
In conclusion, studying unit five has been an informative and fascinating academic experience. Barthes’ essay was one of the most memorable parts of the study, for it happened to be revolutionary to read about his view and try to implement them in everyday life. One of the unit’s ideas, the meaning of the text, can exist if it is interpreted otherwise, it makes no sense. It has changed my outlook on the different forms of art, and their messages, for there is no one right interpretation that had to be found in the author’s work.
Work Cited
“The Death of the Author’ Simplified. (Roland Barthes)”. YouTube, uploaded by Luke Perkins, 2014, Web.